General terms and conditions for the customer survey "Bestes Bio"
1.Preface
“Bestes Bio” is a customer survey provided by bio verlag GmbH, whose registered office is in Magnolienweg 23, 63741 Aschaffenburg, Germany. Manufacturers and producers (termed “entrants” in the following) have opportunity to have their products evaluated by consumers for market research. Bio verlag is supported by partner companies e.g. logistics and technology partners. The consumers will be selected by bio verlag GmbH. Products scoring higher than a set value will receive an award. For “Bestes Bio”, these terms of service have priority over the general terms of service for web services provided by bio verlag GmbH in case of inconsistencies. For purposes of law, the German version of these terms of service applies.
2. Subject, extent and applicability of terms of service
The following terms of service form the basis for all legal relationships between bio verlag GmbH and entrants or interested parties in the customer survey “Bestes Bio”. In choosing to participate in the survey “Bestes Bio” or using the websites www.bestes-bio.com, particularly the subpages reserved for entrants, the interested party or entrant agrees to these terms. Regulations that deviate from the agreed terms of service need a prior written approval by bio verlag GmbH to be effective. Any regulations deviating from these terms of service are hereby expressively contradicted.
3. Registration/User agreement
Registration takes place via the website bestes-bio.com. The agreement is only valid after it has been expressively confirmed by bio verlag. There is no guarantee for participation before the agreement has been confirmed. We reserve our right to reject any single registration, even if they follow the terms specified under item 4.
4. Eligible entrants
Entry in the competition for the award “Bestes Bio” is reserved to those manufacturers and producers that produce or distribute certified organic products for the specialized organic trade (“Fachhandel”). Producers can apply with up to five products per year. Only products available in Germany or with an expected market launch in Germany are allowed to participate.
5. Organizer’s obligations
Bio verlag GmbH will conduct procedures to have the products evaluated by selected consumers. Every product will be sent to at least 100 consumers. Consumers will evaluate products via a survey specifically designed for the respective product category. The promoter will process the participants' feedback and provide it to the entrants. All submitted data will be anonymized. Entrants have no claim in neither the selection of the consumers nor the design of the surveys.
6. User’s obligations
Entrants agree to the following:
- payment of the agreed participation fee and contribution to shipping cost
- provision of 120 units of the respective product (including 20 spare units)
Entrants further agree to provide truthful product information and lists of ingredients in German as well as high-res pictures and brand logos of the respective product in due time.
7. Cancellation
From the entrant’s side: It is possible to cancel the entry at no additional cost until the closing date for applications. If the entrant decides to cancel after the deadline has expired but before the products have been shipped to the consumers, bio verlag GmbH will charge 875€ (plus VAT) in cancellation fees. Cancellation after shipping is not possible for organizational reasons.
From bio verlag GmbH’s side: bio verlag GmbH reserves the right to cancel the competition and amend both participation fees and shipping costs if the organizer cannot guarantee the proper course of events for any reason.
8. Warranty
Consumers can freely evaluate the products. Bio verlag GmbH is only obligated to select suitable and reliable consumers for the survey. The results of the survey are not contestable. Negative consumer feedback in the survey that result in the label “Bestes Bio” not being awarded, are no grounds for reimbursements.
9. Awards
Products that have been evaluated are viable for the label “Bestes Bio” if they achieved at least 80% of the maximum score in the respective product category on average. Successful entrants are allowed to use the label “Bestes Bio” following the terms specified in section 10.
10. Copyright
Bio verlag GmbH is the exclusive licensee of BIO A LA UNE sas for the word and design mark registered at German Patent and Trademark Office Register No. 302018103450. The respective label and its use has to be authorized by bio verlag GmbH. If the label is to be awarded, the entrant will be allowed to use the label “Bestes Bio”. The label is only to be used with the product identical to the one having been evaluated.
A product is considered to be identical only if its product description, composition, packaging, size and further details are an exact match.
Allowance to use the label begins with the latest of the following dates:
- Publication of the results by bio verlag GmbH OR
- 1st December of the year before the one given in the label
The right to use the label expires with the end of the year mentioned in the label. Labelled products manufactured in that year can still be sold in the year following. A valid organic certification is still required for use of the label. If the certificate is lost after the product has been registered – or there has been no valid certificate at the point of registry despite the terms of service – the label “Bestes Bio” is not to be used.
11. Data Protection & Privacy
Please consider our data protection & privacy regulations at:
https://bestes-bio.com/datenschutz.html
12. Liability
(1) Bio verlag GmbH shall be liable in the event of a breach of contractual and non-contractual obligations in accordance with statutory regulations, as long as the terms of service specified here are not contradicted by the following regulations.
(2) Bio verlag GmbH shall be liable for damages – for whatever legal reason – within the framework of liability for malice and gross negligence. We shall be liable for ordinary negligence to a milder standard of liability in accordance with statutory regulations (e.g. diligence in own affairs) only for
a) damage resulting from injury to life, body or health,
b) damage resulting from not insignificant violation of essential contractual obligations (i.e. an obligation that is essentially required for the proper fulfillment of the respective contract and the observance of which the contractual partner regularly relies on and may rely on); in this case however, our liability is limited to compensation of the foreseeable, typically occurring damage.
(3) The limitations of liability listed in section 2 are also to be applied for breaches of duty by or in favor of persons we are responsible for in accordance with statutory regulations. They shall not apply if we have maliciously concealed a deficiency or assumed a warranty. They shall also not apply for claims of the entrant according to the German Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz).
There is no liability assumed for the use of the label “Bestes Bio” by successful entrants in accordance with fair trade laws regulations (Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb). It is up to the entrant to ensure that no fair trade regulations are violated by using the label in a specific way.
13. Violation of terms of service
Entrants trying to influence the selection of consumers or the evaluation of products are disqualified from the running competition and/or the following year. The same applies for unauthorized use of the label “Bestes Bio”. Additionally, the terms of cancellation listed above apply.
14. Changes and updates
Bio verlag GmbH reserves its right to change or update the terms of service without at any given time without stating reasons. Entrants will immediately be informed of any changes.
15. Final clauses
The legal basis for these terms of service and any legal agreements between bio verlag GmbH and any entrants or interested parties is protected by German law. The application of UN CISG is excluded. The place of jurisdiction for any legal controversy connected to the contractual relationship – insofar the ordering party is a registered trader, corporate body under public law or special fund under public law – is Aschaffenburg, Germany.
Should single regulations of these terms of service be or become invalid, the remaining regulations shall remain unaffected. The invalid regulation shall be replaced by such a regulation closest to the economic reason behind the invalid regulation. The same shall be applied to any regulatory gap.
Aschaffenburg, Germany, 20.01.2020